5 Reasons Believer Should Be Blogging

You may not own a home or even your own car. But if you’ve got a blog today, you’re sitting on a very valuable piece of property. With the trust in traditional media decliningand trust in social media channels on the rise, bloggers today have undisputed influence. This moment in time is especially true for Christians who are brand advocates for history’s most powerful message—the gospel.

Think about it. Some blogs get more visits each day than churches get on Sunday, giving some bloggers more influence than some pastors. While that’s certainly not the intended goal, it is the reality.

Brian Bailey, author of The Blogging Church, says the case for Christian bloggers comes down to one point: “Blogging is simply a new way of telling stories. In the same way that we seek out new modes of worshipping, preaching and reaching out, we must find new methods of sharing stories. The message doesn’t change when the methodology changes. If the methodology fails to change, however, we begin to distance ourselves from the people we are called to reach, and we risk becoming irrelevant.”

So what’s your role as a Christian in this new landscape? From my personal experience, our role as Christ followers is to pray, be consistent, and to drive your own lane—which means don’t compare yourself to anyone else. God’s given each one of us a unique way to communicate His message. So that’s the truth you need to stick to.

Not everyone who blogs is a John Piper or a Steven Furtick. And that’s ok. You don’t need a theology degree, a church, a ministry, or anyone’s permission—or commission—to blog. You don’t even have to be a great writer. What you do need is a message worth hearing and every single Christian on the planet has been given that—whether they acknowledge it or not.

5 Reasons Christians Need to Blog:

Blogs = influence. According to the latest stats, blog reliability and blog accuracy, as perceived by readers is on the rise. And, because more people trust Google for everything—regardless of the logic in that—when you blog about a niche topic and Google finds you, you’ve gained an instant audience. The gospel is the stickiest story ever told so committing to write a blog is one of the most powerful and influential channels you can choose to get that story heard.

Blogs drive people to a website. Just because you put up a website doesn’t mean people will come. This point is especially true for churches. Compelling blog topics will drive people to your church website, your ministry site, or the ministries you align with. Blogs give people a reason to “click.” Blogging is one way to “invite” the people around you to church—or better yet, to know Jesus.

Blogs feed people—eternally. If you are interacting with hundreds of people on Facebook or Twitter every day, why not post a status update with some real meat? Why hold back? Provide a potentially life-changing link to your blog that God might use to draw someone to himself. Remember: Everything you do online is in some way for, about, or pointing to Jesus and His message . . . or what you say is ultimately just part of the noise.

Blogs put a dent in the darkness. There’s a lot of junk on the Internet and that’s why some Christians refuse to spend any time at all online. That’s just sad—especially when the Word of God in 1 John 4:4 says “You are from God and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Christians need to be online in God’s power and with God’s focus in the same way Joshua took Jericho and Paul tirelessly covered ground. Technology fearing Christians need to storm the darkness—trust God to be mighty—and quit running from things that “appear” difficult.

Blogs will grow you. Just as any calling isn’t about growing “a ministry” but more about God wanting to grow your personal relationship with Him, be prepared to align deeper, and closer with God. As you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you on what to write and how to write it, you will be pruned and matured in amazing ways. Blogging—correction, impactful blogging—requires you grab onto the Holy Spirit and never let go!

a few good resources:Problogger: This blog educates new bloggers from A to Z. Check out the archives section for tips and tricks to get started.Dummies.com: If you go to http://dummies.com and type “blogging” into the search box. You’ll find videos, cheat sheets, and tips galore.About.com: Type “blogging” into the search box. You’ll find tons of great info.

What blogs have impacted you the most online? Let’s share our resources.

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Toni Birdsong & Tami Heim

Toni Birdsong and Tami Heim, are the co-authors of @stickyJesus: how to live out your faith online. They are both branding and marketing specialists by trade but their greater mission is teaching Christians how to share the gospel authentically in their social networks. They author the popular www.stickyJesus.com, an equipping hub for online outreach. You’ll also find them heating up the conversation on Twitter. This article is copyrighted 2011 by Digital Scribe Press. Used by permission. Follow @stickyjesus

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